Plans for planting

[Erichalfbee]

A tip for growing potatoes in tubs. Don't tip them all out at once, shove your hand in like a lucky dip and gently break off enough potatoes for a meal. The other will continue to grow. We use this method on new potatoes and they keep us going for weeks

Yes and we moved our potatoes in tubs inside the tunnel and harvested the last one just yesterday. Perfect pink fir apple.

 

[enrico]

Yes and we moved our potatoes in tubs inside the tunnel and harvested the last one just yesterday. Perfect pink fir apple.

Just out of interest when did you plant those?

 

[Erichalfbee]

Around now. Bags/ tubs go into poly tunnel and outside a month later

 

[JamezF]

I love squashes so I’m trying all different sorts.

I'm trying more every year at the moment, though I might struggle for places to put them. Last year I grew butternut squashes and a small-ish round orange squash called Uchiki Kuri, having just grown the butternuts the year before. This year I'm adding Crown Prince. I'm quite tempted to make new beds around the bases of some of the trees in the orchards and put a squash (or perhaps two) in each, allowing them to trail around the base of the tree.

Other cucurbits I'm having a go with (other than cucumbers which are always on the list) are a couple of new (to me) types of melon, cucamelons (my daughter's choice) and Luffa (the loofah gourd).

I quite like pickled gherkins and cornichons, but you don't need that many to go a long way and whenever I've grown them in the past it seems difficult to get enough at the same stage of ripeness to pickle them all at the same time so for the moment I have given up with them.

James

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

cucamelons

tiny little things taste pretty ech

 

[Erichalfbee]

I'm trying more every year at the moment, though I might struggle for places to put them. Last year I grew butternut squashes and a small-ish round orange squash called Uchiki Kuri, having just grown the butternuts the year before. This year I'm adding Crown Prince. I'm quite tempted to make new beds around the bases of some of the trees in the orchards and put a squash (or perhaps two) in each, allowing them to trail around the base of the tree.

We top our two fields just once a year in September. The grass gets piled along one boundary. The resultant decomposing piles are great for squashes. Just planted into the composting mowings.

 

[JamezF]

Ah, for the last few years the grass from mowing our main field has been made into hay. I can probably collect the stuff that is just left on the ground when the orchard is mowed though. Mind you, the way things are going, buying loads of compost will be cheaper than the fuel for the mower

James

 

[Wilco]

Finally got round to sorting out seeds for the propagators. Mostly leftover seeds. Perpetually hopeful that blight won't get my tomatoes, squash in, broccoli amd others. Some yacon crowns survived last year's neglect so potted and also potted some self seeded lavender after prising it from cracks in the patio. Full spectrum LEDs on so ghostly glow coming from the shed as if we're growing illicit substances!

 

[JamezF]

Perpetually hopeful that blight won't get my tomatoes

Late blight is a major pain in the bum. I'm not aware of any organic controls and my understanding of the commercial non-organic controls are that they're complex to use, and from what I've read blight spores can travel tens of miles on the wind so they spread very easily.

Growing in a polytunnel or greenhouse are the only ways I've found to keep it at bay, neither of which are very practical when it comes to growing decent volumes of potatoes I do still find that my polytunnel tomatoes get blight, but usually so late in the year that there's not a lot left cropping anyhow.

I discovered last year that blight needs a living host and it's therefore not a big deal to compost blight-affected plant material. It does mean that volunteer potatoes are a potential source of reinfection though, so I shall be extra-vigilant about getting rid of any that pop up this year.

James

 

[Wilco]

Late blight is a major pain in the bum. I'm not aware of any organic controls and my understanding of the commercial non-organic controls are that they're complex to use, and from what I've read blight spores can travel tens of miles on the wind so they spread very easily.

Growing in a polytunnel or greenhouse are the only ways I've found to keep it at bay, neither of which are very practical when it comes to growing decent volumes of potatoes I do still find that my polytunnel tomatoes get blight, but usually so late in the year that there's not a lot left cropping anyhow.

I discovered last year that blight needs a living host and it's therefore not a big deal to compost blight-affected plant material. It does mean that volunteer potatoes are a potential source of reinfection though, so I shall be extra-vigilant about getting rid of any that pop up this year.

James

It's a massive problem here. I tried tomatoes when we first moved and lost almost everything despite noone having grown in the garden for a while previously. A couple of summers later I didn't bother with any tomatoes and it ended up being that mega hot one which would have been amazing for ripening early. The following year I took a chance and had almost no blight at all until late even though it was an average summer. I half wondered if the heat had somehow decimated the blight. Back to hideous levels now though.

 

[Nannysbees]

You have to be really careful these days picking wild grown watercress ... there are lots of potential riskss unless it is grown very close to the water source and in water you could safely drink. Liver Fluke is the least of the problems. I'm not a great fan of the stuff but I grow it in the greenhouse in a double tray of waterlogged sterile soil with a good layer of horticultural grit on top. Top tray has holes in it and the bottom tray it sits in contains the water.

I start it off from some shop bought watercress ... it roots in no time and the cut stems of a bunch will produce more of the stuff than you can comfortably eat. I drain the water off every couple of days and replace it with fresh so that it does not stagnate ... seems to grow better in the water logged medium than it does in just soil ... I've tried both. Ideally I would like a recirculating water system but ... works as it is.

Sweet potatoes ... there's a thread on here from a couple of years ago ... I grown them in 40 litre tubs ... they are thugs if you don't contain them. Starting them off early indoors is the key if you are making your own slips ... they really do need a long growing season and a long hot summer gives a decent yield .... but they are erratic ... I've had some plants with really good size tubers and others with loads of carrot sized ones !

I think with what has happened in the world over the last couple of years there is going to be a significant hike in the cost of decent fruit and veg so anyone would be well advised to try and grow anything edible that they possibly can - even if it's only a few tubs on the patio,

My elderly neighbour had offered us some of his raised beds to use, so i thought I would plant potatoes, haven't had room in our garden and haven't grown them before so I thought I'd give it a whirl

 

[Nannysbees]

Late blight is a major pain in the bum. I'm not aware of any organic controls and my understanding of the commercial non-organic controls are that they're complex to use, and from what I've read blight spores can travel tens of miles on the wind so they spread very easily.

Growing in a polytunnel or greenhouse are the only ways I've found to keep it at bay, neither of which are very practical when it comes to growing decent volumes of potatoes I do still find that my polytunnel tomatoes get blight, but usually so late in the year that there's not a lot left cropping anyhow.

I discovered last year that blight needs a living host and it's therefore not a big deal to compost blight-affected plant material. It does mean that volunteer potatoes are a potential source of reinfection though, so I shall be extra-vigilant about getting rid of any that pop up this year.

James

How many tomato plants do you typically grow?

 

[Erichalfbee]

Full spectrum LEDs on so ghostly glow coming from the shed as if we're growing illicit substances!

Now that's a thought. Both my step daughters are police officers. the Cheshire lot are always busting cannabis farms, In fact much to their chagrin one was discovered next to the nick. I wonder if they knock out the lights cheaply?

 

[Wilco]

Now that's a thought. Both my step daughters are police officers. the Cheshire lot are always busting cannabis farms, In fact much to their chagrin one was discovered next to the nick. I wonder if they knock out the lights cheaply?

I did some research and got some full spectrum screw bulbs on ebay quite cheaply. Coping with almost constant use quite well, or did last year. I've also got some full spectrum COB LEDs also from ebay which I haven't wired up yet, part of a bigger plan when I get time.

 

[Murox]

Now that's a thought. Both my step daughters are police officers. the Cheshire lot are always busting cannabis farms, In fact much to their chagrin one was discovered next to the nick. I wonder if they knock out the lights cheaply?

Its a marketing ploy really. Most so called full spectrum LED's are not optimised for horticultural use at all. Its tied up with the actual wavelengths of light that plants use, not brightness. The sun is the only real full-spectrum light.

 

[Wilco]

Its a marketing ploy really. Most so called full spectrum LED's are not optimised for horticultural use at all. Its tied up with the actual wavelengths of light that plants use, not brightness. The sun is the only real full-spectrum light.

Yes, you have to be careful what you're buying as many that are advertised as full spectrum only really emit around two main bands of wavelength and seem to be focused on the 'growing lettuce indoors' sort of thing. If you spend long enough going through listings you can find those which cover most of the spectrum (mine include UV, can't remember the spec exactly, haven't thought about it for the last couple of years) although still don't look like sunlight. It may be excessive compared to the minimum necessary but I'm not always averse to overengineering....

I use them because I'm not allowed a greenhouse or to grow things indoors so it means I can utilise the outhouse. Where there's a Will there's a way...

 

[Bumble Bee Slim]

Finally got round to sorting out seeds for the propagators. Mostly leftover seeds. Perpetually hopeful that blight won't get my tomatoes, squash in, broccoli amd others. Some yacon crowns survived last year's neglect so potted and also potted some self seeded lavender after prising it from cracks in the patio. Full spectrum LEDs on so ghostly glow coming from the shed as if we're growing illicit substances!

Glad to see I'm not the only person growing yacons ! Tomato blight is bad here too, so much so that for the first time ever I am growing 5 different blight resistant varieties Having previously been put off by the bad reviews they received when it comes to taste Ive decided to try them for myself.

 

[pargyle]

My elderly neighbour had offered us some of his raised beds to use, so i thought I would plant potatoes, haven't had room in our garden and haven't grown them before so I thought I'd give it a whirl

Really easy to grow... pick varieties that you like to eat you can do three crops ... first early, early and main crop ... top tip is to put some blood fish and bone in the bottom of the trench when you plant them and a top dressing of potato fertiliser when the plants are established. Only problem I have is potato blight and if they get it I cut the tops off and harvest that plant as soon as I can. You can buy blight resistant varieties which helps a bit ..I grew Rooster last year which gave an excellent crop of medium sized spuds . . Good all rounder for eating as well ... some plants got blight but very late I the season... the Whites I planted were attacked by wire worm but they left the roosters alone.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Perpetually hopeful that blight won't get my tomatoes

Blight is always a problem, especially in damp muggy weather. The trick is (or at least it helps) not to have a hgumid greenhouse so as usually the risk of frost is ell gone by the time of year blight is a problem it's good to keep the greenhouse well ventilated at all times. must admit that the door on mine stays open for most of the summer

 

[W0otz]

Didn't get a single tomato last year, my plants got blight really early. Giving tomatillos a go this year instead - has anyone tried them before?

I've only got a small garden and small allotment, so I try and focus on growing things that are either more expensive, unusual, or where the home grown version is significantly better than bought. Usually this means no spuds as they're cheap enough to buy, but this year I'm giving Salad Blue a go as they meet my "unusual" criteria.